Friday, July 31, 2015

And that's how to do an effective death. Like with Rachael in the previous episode, I actually quite liked Riley and I found the budding relationship between her and Noah at least interesting but given that Audrey lost her lover in the previous episode, I guess we all should've seen Riley's death coming.

Unlike some of the other deaths, the tension here was actually effective too. Riley genuinely believed in Tyler's innocence and wanted to help (though the show didn't really highlight why she believed it so well) but instead found herself becoming a pawn and eventual kill in Ghostface's ongoing saga with Emma.

I'm not gonna actually blame Emma here because Ghostface was going to kill someone whether Emma had actually paid them any attention and if it hadn't been Riley, then it would've been Brooke (who I still will be a later death). Either way, someone wasn't getting out of this episode. It was just a pity that for a second episode in a row it happened to be someone likeable though.

I mean the killer (assuming it's neither of them) couldn't have paid attention to either Will or Jake, who spent most of this episode fighting over blackmail money (something also involving Tyler and Nina). Three episodes in and I still don't greatly care for either character. Will is a bit too bland for my liking and Jake's just a sleazy annoyance, even if he showed some savvy during one particular scene with Brooke in this episode.

I did like that on top of having Riley's bloody exit, we also had both Emma and Audrey realise that Rachael (during her wake) didn't actually kill herself and the Emma/Kieran scenes were a good way of getting the former more familiarised with her mother's connection to Brandon James as well. That story is continuing to bubble along well enough in the main show even if Ghostface's fixation on Emma is feeling a bit too cliched in parts.

- Piper got more information on Brandon James's first kills (the opening scene with Dara Aldean and Brett Kenner) courtesy of Noah.
- Either Brooke really is that dizzy or she's planning to blackmail Seth at some point because why else would she suggest cybersex with him?
- The way Kieren seems to drop bits of information on Emma is also potentially suspicious as well.
- At some point, someone has to actually find Tyler's body, right?

Easily the strongest episode so far. "Wanna Play A Game?" had a decent amount of tension, an effective and bloody send off for Riley, amidst a sweet romance between her and Noah and a slightly interesting-ish subplot with Will/Jake. A slight improvement.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

A look at some of the shows I've been watching over the last few weeks.

Daredevil: Having watched both recents seasons of Orange Is The New Black and Sense8 prior to this, I decided to go and check it out and while I don't think it's the most amazing superhero show yet (think Arrow/The Flash still have that down) but the potential is definitely. Charlie Cox is perfect as the upcoming Daredevil (we so need to see that costume) and I'm loving the subtle menace of Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk while the supporting characters of Foggy, Karen and Claire work particularly well too. Some of the mobster stuff though is a bit boring though.

Humans: This show has been consistently amazing throughout it's first season and the penultimate not only reunited all of the Synths together but we finally found out the connection that Voss had with them and it certainly packed a punch as did the cliffhanger leading into the finale. This series has been an absolute triumph for Channel 4 and while the Hawkins were initially hard to connect with as a family, the last few episodes made me start to care for them as much as Mia and company. I really hope a second series is imminent.

Marvel's Agent Carter: I'm enjoying this series quite but not more than Agents Of SHIELD (is that controversial to say?). Airing it during the summer when there hasn't been as much on was probably a wise move for FOXUK. The banter between Peggy and Jarvis is certainly a highlight of each episode as are the Alias style missions leading to the bigger conspiracy plot. I also like the continued but not too forced references to Captain America as well and as per usual, Hayley Atwell continues to deliver.

Orange Is The New Black: Season 3 has not been the show's strongest season but it still has been a hugely enjoyable one though. While Caputo and Aleida didn't get the most engaging of flashbacks, at least Daya finally gave birth, Piper got revenge on Stella (who stole from her), Alex's fate was left rather unknown and the brilliance of Doggett and Big Boo's friendship shone through. The finale itself was a good way of ending the series but for negatives, Sophia's storyline disappointed me and I don't like the idea of a Healy/Red romance for next season.

True Detective: We're heading towards the end of the season and a part of me is wondering if this show has become a victim of it's own success? Season 1 wasn't particularly straight forward television but it managed to bewitch viewers in a way that I don't think the second season has done. I'm also not sure if having a time jump midseason was particularly needed as well but at least it's helped to slightly advance things with Ray, Ani, Paul and Frank even if the main plot is struggling to engage. Hopefully the last two episodes will bring the season to a satisfying close.

- MTV have renewed Scream for a second season. A UK broadcaster has yet to pick up the series.
- Banshee will end after four seasons. The last one will air in 2016.
- Michael Chiklis will be a regular in the second season of Gotham.
- Sense8's chances of renewal are optimistic but nothing has been confirmed yet.
- Katie McGrath will be in a Canadian eight part horror series called Slasher.
- Ed Sheeran has bagged a recurring role in upcoming series, The Bastard Executioner.
- Chris Browning has been cast as Reactron for Supergirl.
- Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige have joined NBC's The Wiz.
- Andrew Howard will be playing an agent in Agents Of SHIELD.
- Riley Smith will play a band's frontman in the next season of Nashville.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

In news that probably won't shock anyone really, it has been confirmed after months of relative silence surrounding this series that the upcoming third season of fantasy historical drama, DaVinci's Demons will now serve as it's last.

The show which debuted in 2013 on Starz network and stars Tom Riley as the titular DaVinci had been a hit for the cable station but it was announced last week that Season 3 will mark the end for the show. The season will comprise of ten episodes and will be executive produced by The X-Files John Shiban, following the departure of creator David S. Goyer.

I have to admit that like with a lot of cancellations this year (Atlantis, Revenge, Hannibal) that I'm not actually that shocked by this news. The fact that Starz have yet to produce a series that goes beyond three seasons (excluding Spartacus) aside, I actually three seasons is a good place to end the series as well. It's been a fun show but unfortunately while it's likely that I will see the episodes when they air, due to circumstances, I may not be able to review them as such. I am though looking forward to this final season.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Ghostface: "You're gonna try a little batting practice on me?"
Emma: "You're damn right I will."
Ghostface: "You'll have to find me first. I could be anywhere."

Second episode in and things opened up with a nice character being killed off. Yes, this show killed off one half of the lesbian couple with poor Rachael being hung within the first five minutes as she foolishly believed that Audrey was prank calling her. It also didn't help that we learned Rachael was a cutter and that she couldn't handle the mean girl comments being posted about her as well.

Rachael's death however did serve to highlight Emma's own guilt about uploading that video but there were times where I felt like someone should've told Emma that it wasn't really about her. Then the last scene happened where Ghostface made it pretty damn clear that it was about Emma and that past sins were going to be paid via her at some point.

For me, I'm liking the phone calls between Emma and Ghostface but two episodes in (and I'm aware that this is MTV), this show is feeling rather tame though. Rachael's death is effective due to her being likeable but none of the deaths we've had so far on the show have matched even the tamer of deaths in the movies as of yet. In that regard this show needs to up it's game and get a bit more creative.

I do appreciate that because the show is ten episodes that the writers are being realistic enough by not going overkill on the bloodbaths just yet. It's also helping that we're getting bits and bobs of information about Brandon James and his past with Maggie/Daisy (Emma's father was also a survivor of that previous massacre). It's a good thing because the teen stuff is utterly boring.

With Audrey/Rachael's relationship cut too short, only Noah and Riley's budding one seems to have some marginal interest to it. I couldn't care less about Emma and Will as a couple (though Kieran deliberately causing trouble between them is slightly amusing) and Brooke sleeping with her English teacher, Seth is also dull to watch. Also the less said about Jake the better. He's by far the worst character on the show and hopefully an imminent death too.

- Tyler's body hasn't been found and they seem to have him as a suspect.
- The show has it's own version of Gale Weathers with Piper Shaw - a podcaster. We also met the mayor as well during this episode.
- Noah was actually vandalising Jake's car rather than doing any killings. Glad they cleared that one up rather quickly.
- Murder selfies, anyone?

Like the opening episode, it isn't bad but "Hello, Emma" felt just as safe as the first one. I know there are restrictions on what they can get away with but considering that this show seems to reference so many shows, perhaps it could try to take some of the risks as they do as well.

I was going to leave discussing this series until I reviewed the movies but now it's going to be series first, movies second (perhaps) as I finally caved in and watched the pilot episode, which MTV were kind enough to have on YouTube, if not the rest of the episodes.

I was wary about this series. I'm a massive fans of the movies and the first couple of trailers for this show felt generic, even by MTV's standards and I have to admit that watching this opening episode, that feeling wasn't shook off at all. Don't worry though, I will say some nice things about the show too as there were bits I enjoyed.

As a protagonist, Emma may or may not be as iconic of as Sidney Prescott but out of the main characters, she's one of the better fleshed out - likeable but flawed enough with a jock boyfriend and a mother whose past actually connected brilliantly to the Ghostface of the series and the first of several phone calls between Emma and Ghostface was suitably chilling enough.

I also liked that the opening episode concentrated on two deaths - Nina and her boyfriend, Tyler but with a series of ten episodes, there's plenty of time to add to the body count and there's probably a few characters in this episode alone (Jake for example) who future demises won't generate a lot of sympathy.

Coming up with a whole new mythology for Ghostface or Brandon James (a disfigured boy driven to murder) certainly helps to give the show it's own identity. I like the way that Noah (the Randy Meeks for the MTV generation) conveyed Brandon's backstory for both the audience and Riley and while I doubt that James is back from the dead, it does seem like both Emma and Audrey are linked by him though, especially considering what we learned about the former's mother in this episode.

As for the bad points of this episode - well, Emma, Noah and Audrey are good as characters but not amazing and the rest of them are just bland. Will (Emma's boyfriend), Tyler and Jake are stereotypical jocks (or were in Tyler's case), Brooke and Nina are/were bitchy and bland, Kieran just seems the typical mystery bloke and the adults (excluding Maggie/Daisy) aren't particularly exciting.

Also while it makes sense for social media to factor into the killings and so on (as did Scream 4), there are times in the episode (and undoubtedly in following ones) where it didn't come off particularly well though. I also think despite wiping off blood from his forehead that it's a safe assumption that Noah is not the killer of the group.

- The sing song element of Ghostface singing 'Daisy' was creepy enough. I have a feeling that Daisy is a future victim though.
- The episode opened with Audrey and Rachel's relationship being outed by Nina. The opening wasn't successful in recreating the opening from the first movie though.
- The movies may have been set in Woodsboro but in the series, it's a place called Lakewood.
- If we're going by the movies, it's a safe bet that there are two killers and possibly one of them is someone from the main six. The main six being Emma, Audrey, Brooke, Will, Kieran and Noah.

Not a bad opening episode and with a second season already secured, it certainly has time to fine tune itself but for a MTV show, it doesn't feel too violent. I guess maybe they're starting slow and there's enough potential here but I have a feeling that unless the show doesn't up it's game fast, the upcoming Scream Queens will end up overshadowing it.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

It's exactly two months until the second season of music drama Empire returns and FOX are really going into overdrive promoting the upcoming season as well with a slew of cast pictures, behind the scenes videos, casting announcement and of course a newly trailer.

First of all, FOX have released this rather on point promotional picture of warring exes, Lucious (Terrence Howard) and Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson) sitting on thrones and posing with lions. I assume that one with Jamal, Andre and Hakeem posing with cubs perhaps is probably rather imminent but it's a nice way of capturing the tone for the second season, which assuming to Danny Strong will be "warring kingdoms". Looks like this show might be venturing into Game Of Thrones style territory with that theme.

Yesterday however a trailer dropped for the new season and while it was only thirty second long, it did show Lucious in prison, Cookie in a cage, Andre and Cookie in cahoot and both Jamal and Hakeem performing and recording at different points along with Anika looking particularly scheming. Over the next few weeks, I imagine we will be getting far more spoilery trailers but as a taster, that was a good start.

As for guest stars, the second season seems to be overflowing with them. Already we know that Adam Rodriguez is playing Laz Delgado, a potential love interest for Cookie while Marisa Tomei is playing Mimi Whiteman. Kelly Rowland was also confirmed as Lucious's mother for a flashback sequence with Chris Rock as a fellow inmate while Andre Royo will be Lucious's lawyer, Thirsty Rawlings while Ludacris, Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz and Tyra Ferrell have undisclosed roles for now. Meanwhile both Gabourey Sidibe and Ta'Rhonda Jones have been elevated as regulars and the show itself will run for 18 episodes this season.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Because apparently enough returning shows (X Files, Heroes, Twin Peaks etc) wasn't enough, a few days ago, it was kind of announced that NBC were considering a reboot of popular fantasy drama, Xena: Warrior Princess could be in the works with a 2016 airdate even being earmarked.

However before anyone could get excited, Xena herself Lucy Lawless later confirmed that the reboot was more a case of "wishful thinking" than an actual promise, even though NBC are supposedly looking for writers and Lawless (who has previously stated her keenness to reprise her infamous role) herself has not been confirmed should the show actually return. The series itself aired for six seasons between 1995 and 2001.

I'm a bit mixed about this one. I loved the show and Lawless is so iconic in the role but given how it actually ended and that it seems you can't move for the amount of reboots either happening or being considered, I'm not sure another one is actually needed. I'll post more information when it becomes available on this one.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

I've been debating writing this article for a while but with the recent announcement that John Barrowman would be reprising the role of Captain Jack Harkness for a range of Torchwood audios for Big Finish, now felt like the right time to do this.

The obvious warning - this mostly speculation and mostly ideas on how I think if the show ever returned to television (and I certainly wouldn't rule it out), how exactly it should be handled. Without further ado, here goes ....

1: A New Format: It's unlikely if the series ever returned that it would get the 13 episodes that it's first two series had but format wise, how about a series containing either six hour long episodes or a series of 90 minute episodes/specials (three or four like Sherlock)? Given the BBC's budget nowadays and the fact that Barrowman and Myles do have other commitments too, it would be the more viable of options.

2: Quickly Resolve The Events Of Miracle Day: And I mean quickly. It would be tempting to for any reboot of Torchwood to essentially ignore the events (and a part of me would be more than okay with that) of Miracle Day, but at the same time we could also have Jack mention in passing to Gwen and Rhys that Rex's immortality was reversed and that he took out the Families/ultimately stopped their Plan B from ever happening. That way, the show would be able to completely move on from that particular series.

3: Bring It Home: I'm not gonna lie - Torchwood was at it's best when it was mainly centred in Cardiff and while both Children Of Earth and Miracle Day are commendable for getting the team out of the Hub, I also think the show lost it's USP by doing that as well. Any reboot would have to have Jack and Gwen setting up shop in the Hub once again and having the action primarily in Cardiff.

4: New Team Members: Easily the most obvious request. Jack and Gwen are great but better when they have other characters to bounce off and a new Torchwood team comprising of a new doctor, a new tech geek and at least one or two field agents as well would be essential for the show. And of course, I'm sure there could be another work related romance too, though not essential.

5: Hold Back With The Kills: In four seasons we saw Suzie, Owen, Toshiko, Ianto, Vera and Esther all come a cropper in terms of demises and if we got a new team with Jack and Gwen, while I wouldn't expect them all to survive, I would like if RTD slowed down a bit on the kill factor and allowed the new characters to develop a bit more too. Like I said, Jack and Gwen are great but Torchwood should be an ensemble piece as well.

6: The Odd Returning Face/Crossover Appeal: Okay, any reboot would probably also feature Rhys and Andy but what about the likes of Bilis Manger and Captain John Hart? Both of those characters are certainly ripe for further stories. Not to mention the fact that if Torchwood went down the Sherlock route, it could become more crossover friendly with the Doctor Who universe. If not a cameo appearance from whoever would be the Doctor/companion should a reboot ever come to pass, then maybe a team up with Jack's new gang and the current UNIT?

7: A Sense Of Fun Along With The Danger: This might be a controversial opinion but for me Torchwood was at it's best during it's second series. It had the right amount of danger, a team who properly felt like a team but it also had a sense of fun and while later series seem intent into making Jack into a mashup of both Angel and Jack Bauer, I have to admit, it never works for the character. Jack is at his best when he's more of a cheeky rogue rather than a brooding so and so who ends up sacrificing his own grandchild and again if/when Torchwood returns to the small screen, I'd like a sense of proper fun along with the danger. I don't think that's the most unreasonable of requests.

Monday, July 20, 2015

It's that time of year again. A few days ago, the nominations for the 2015 Emmys was announced and well, there were moments worth commenting on. Anything in italics is who I would like to see win, not who I think will win.

First of all for drama fans, there are seven shows (actually all main nods are seven choices this year) and those shows are Game Of Thrones, Mad Men, Downton Abbey, Orange Is The New Black, House Of Cards, Homeland and Better Saul Call. Comedy fans on the other hand, the choices are Louie, Modern Family, Transparent, Silicon Valley, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Veep and Parks & Recreation. Gotta admit, with this category as I don't watch any of those shows, I don't really care who actually wins, so no italics for me there. In terms of limited series, the choices are American Crime, Olive Kitteridge, American Horror Story: Freak Show, The Honourable Woman and Wolf Hall.

Like previous years, there's a lot of fairly safe/predictable choices, a few surprises (I'm shocked Empire didn't get more nods, delighted that Maslany did) and a couple of snubs. A full list of all nominees can be seen below.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

And here's the recap for the last two episodes of this incredible series. It's been something of a bumpy ride.

Nomi Marks: The last two episodes for Nomi were a group collaboration with Will and the rest of the Sensates into rescuing Riley and it was certainly fun to see Nomi put her hacking skills to the test when she aided Will into getting into Whispers facility in order to get Riley out of there. We also got to see her hacking buddy Bug again as well as another shining moment of how brilliant Amanita was throughout the final two episodes.

Lito Rodriguez: He wasn't in the penultimate episode and Hernando wasn't in the final two episodes and we still don't know whether or not Joaquin will out him but his skills did come in handy when it came to charming a female doctor (his bit in Operation: Rescue Riley) and the moment where he reminded Will that they took part in an orgy half a season ago was certainly priceless.

Will Gorski: The finale was probably the biggest for Will and Riley and their whole relationship in general. He got everyone to get him to Iceland to rescue Riley and also had to experience her traumatic past while they were escaping (along with various interactions with Jonas, Angel and Whispers). He was also left in a bit of a sticky predicament as the episode ended as well.

Riley Blue: Wow, that finale was traumatic as hell for the poor girl. The flashbacks to her husband and baby's death, the current torture she was suffering at Whispers and even being forced to relive her past experiences as she was escaping with Will. Some truly excellent acting from Tuppence Middleton in the last two episodes. I did like that her and Will got a moment together in the end.

Kala Dandekar: We got to see various skills from Kala in the finale (getting Wolfgang out of a stick situation, helping Will to wake up Riley) but even then, there were some bad times for Kala. Going by what she saw with Wolfgang, it might be a while before things go further with them. On the plus side, it's nice that we've seen her interact with more members of the same cluster though.

Wolfgang Bogdanov: Things got bloody and they got bloody rather fast. While Wolfgang was able to get Felix to safety, he then managed to lay waste to his uncle's gang before taking out his uncle in one violent swoop. Actually the flashbacks to when Wolfgang killed another important family member was a good way of highlighting how dangerous he was (along with his method for helping Will/Riley escape). It also put something of a damper on things with him and Kala for the time being.

Sun Bak: And the bad stuff kept on coming for more of the cluster members. While Sun helped Will beat the crap out of several security guards during Rescue Riley, she also had the misfortune of finding out that her father was killed and that her brother intended for her to remain in prison. If the show comes back for a second season, then I'm hoping Sun is freed within the first half of it.

Capheus: Van Damn came through various times in the last two episodes. His skills with stealing cars helped Will and Riley with their escape while in his own life he also managed (with a little help from Sun) protect the mob boss's daughter and save the mob boss himself. As a final note, I also love that one of the last images of the finale was a moment where all eight Sensates were on a boat together and given that the whole Jonas/Whisper/Angel stuff is far from resolved, this show has to come back for a second season. Go on, Netflix, you know you want to.

All of Sense8's first season can be seen on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, do so now.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Humans: This has been an excellent summer series and quite easily the best original drama that Channel 4 have commissioned this year. Five episodes in and things are progressing beautifully with Voss being revealed as a Synth (did not see that coming), Niska hiding out at George's and learning more about her origins and both Leo and Matilda trying to help Anita remember her past as Mia. I'm still not that invested in Joe and Laura's marital woes (or Pete's for that matter either) but other than that, this show deserves a second season.

Marvel's Agent Carter: Just like Empire, I did wonder what took so long for this show to get a UK home (Irish viewers, RTE2 from July 25th) and I also wonder if the show might not have lived up to the hype but watching the first episode, it more than did. Hayley Atwell is absolutely terrific as Peggy Carter once again and the partnership with her and James D'Arcy's Jarvis is going to be a blast to watch throughout the series. Some of the commentary on sexism in the work place was far from subtle and while there was a moment or two that riffed off Alias a little, this show already has me watching to keep with it.

Orange Is The New Black: Season 3 has not been the show's best season but some of the backstories have been great though. Both Norma and Leanne in particular got some surprising ones while Alex's current paranoia for her safety has done a lot to derail her relationship with Piper (along with Stella's growing influence on the latter too) but the flashbacks to Tiffany's past and her current situation with an abusive guard though was pretty shocking along with SoSo's increasing isolation. The rivalry with Gloria and Sophia though has been a source of tedium, even if it's finally given the latter more to do.

Selfie: I was a little harsh the last time I talked about this. This time, while I'm not particularly sad that this show was cancelled months, the last few episodes have been better. In fact I actually really enjoyed the fifth episode where Henry and Eliza were at their boss's home for a retreat and again, the chemistry that Karen Gillan and John Cho have is infectious. The writing still isn't great at times but has improved slightly since that awful pilot episode.

True Detective: Okay, I'm going to say it out loud - the main story is boring the crap out of me and I honestly am starting not to care who killed Casper or why. On the plus side, I am enjoying the dynamic between Ray and Ani a lot while Frank has mostly been an interesting gangster. Paul's story on the other hand is polarising. On one hand, Taylor Kitsch is doing an amazing job with the self loathing character but on the other hand, it feels massively dates. More importantly with four episodes left to go, the main story would want to pick pretty fast though.

- Fans of Kingdom will be pleased with the development for Nick Jonas's character in it's upcoming second season.
- Kelly Rowland will be playing the mother of Lucious in flashbacks for the Season 2 premiere of Empire. Marisa Tomei will also be appearing in the show and E4 will air the new season close to US transmission.
- Peter Krause has replaced Damon Dayoub in Shonda Rhimes's upcoming series, The Catch.
- Michelle Dockery has been cast in the lead for upcoming TNT drama, Good Behaviour.
- Both Aquarius and Hannibal's remaining episodes have been pushed to Saturdays by NBC.
- Isaac Hempstead Wright will reprise his role as Bran Stark for Season 6 of Game Of Thrones.
- The Vampire Diaries will be adding a lesbian vampire couple for it's upcoming seventh season.
- Amy Manson, Elliot Knight, Joann Metra, Luke Garrigan and Andrew Jenkins will be playing Merida, Merlin, Guinevere, King Arthur and Percival respectively in the fifth season of Once Upon A Time.
- MTV have renewed Scream for a second season and Teen Wolf for a sixth one.
- Cornelius Smith Jr will be a regular in the upcoming fifth season of Scandal.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

The final set of panels I'm going to cover and it made sense for Comic-Con to have merged both of Ryan Murphy's horror/comedy anthology shows. The panel had a string of excellent people - including Kathy Bates, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sarah Paulson, Matt Bomer and Evan Peters to name a few. Without further ado, here's what we learned about both shows.

American Horror Story

- Characters from previous will appear in Hotel. Murphy didn't specify which ones though. Also, once again the chances of Jessica Lange reappearing seem particularly high.
- We got character names. Kathy Bates will play Iris, Matt Bomer is Donovan, Evan Peters is Mr March and Sarah Paulson will be playing Hypodermic Sally. All of these characters are villains, including Angela Bassett's too.
- There will be no musical numbers this season but Gaga's character will have something to do with fashion. Murphy revealed that Gaga actually wrote him a letter for a role on the show.
- Sarah Paulson expressed a delight to guest on Scream Queens. You just know that's going to happen. Her character in Hotel however may not survive the season.
- A brief trailer was also released, featuring Gaga's hand. The start of those little themed trailers before we get a major concept one closer to transmission.

Scream Queens

- A lot of major spoilers for this side of the panel. We'll meet the killer in the opening episode. The cast have to do two shots - one where they're innocent, the other where they're the killer.
- Jamie Lee Curtis's character will do something that is a nod to Halloween. Her character will also kick ass and have sex with an 18 year old. Murphy made it clear on the panel how much he adores Jamie.
- Lea Michele confirmed that Hester is incredibly jealous of Chanel. The earmuffs also worn by Billie Lourd's Chanel minion character are a plot point as well.
- Zayday on the other hand also wants to stop Chanel from running rampant. That's something both her and Cathy seem to have in common.
- A musical episode may or may not happen in this show. Murphy hasn't ruled it out as such.

The panels for both shows were hilarious and informative enough. It's going to be interesting watching both shows side by side over the winter months.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Second and final Comic-Con one in relation to DC, this time around covering both Gotham and the upcoming movies, Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Suicide Squad.

Gotham

- Season 2 will be known as the rise of the villains and considering that we've got Penguin as king of the city, the early days of the Riddler and the brother/sister duo of Theo/Tabitha along with unstable Barbara, you think that would be enough, right?
- Wrong! It's more or less looking likely that Cameron Monaghan (who is appearing in the opening episode for Season 2) is playing a younger version of the Joker. He certainly went down a storm at the Panel on Saturday.
- Now that Bruce and Alfred have found the Batcave, expect a whole new chapter in their relationship.
- Because this season will be about the villains, the story will get more epic as the city falls into chaos.
- Expect a "darker edge" this year.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice

We had the panel attended by Zack Snyder, Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams and Gal Gadot and along with the above image, we also a) found out that Affleck will be starring in a solo Batman movie, which he'll be co-writing with Geoff Johns and b) a new trailer was released for the main movie itself. Highlights include ...

- The rather slimy introduction for Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor. The words 'smiling assassin' never seemed more apt.
- Alfred repeatedly trying to persuade Bruce that Superman wasn't his enemy. Not to mention the actual face-offs between Batman and Superman as well.
- A little parting gift from the Joker, which suddenly makes those flashback rumours seem more plausible as well.
- Holly Hunter as a very worried Senator. Like everyone else, she's not so quick to embrace Superman.
- Wonder Woman in a few shots as well.

While I still have some reservations about this movie, I have to admit that the trailer released over the weekend did a far better job of selling the movie than the one released back in April did.

Suicide Squad

An edit here because due to the leaks, Warner Brothers have now released the trailer for the movie officially and it's a bloody thing of beauty. Much as I enjoyed the second trailer for Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, let's just say the Suicide Squad trailer edged it out a bit more. Especially with that haunting song used in the trailer.

- Margot Robbie's take on Harley Quinn certainly looks fairly consistent with the character. There seemed to be a moment where she's being an acrobat in her prison cell.
- Amanda Waller forms the Squad with the sole intention of blaming them if things go wrong. Again, pretty consistent.
- Some good shots of Deadshot and Captain Boomerang, the latter who quips to Harley about crazy ones.
- Jared Leto's Joker definitely has a menacing vibe to him. I think it's safe to say they've struck gold here with Leto's casting.
- More to the point, I'm glad the movie won't shy away from the darker aspects of both Joker and Harley's relationship as well.

Also revealed during the weekend by DC was that The Killing Joke will be getting an animated movie next year with a 15 minute prequel that will surface online as well. Of course the story will be retold in a new way for it's animated debut though while Batman: Bad Blood will add Batwoman into the mix. 2016 is certainly going to be a busy year for both live action and animated Batman related films.

Mainly for the main CW shows and a certain series about to make it's debut on CBS during the month of October. Here are the respective bits you need to know from the Comic-Con panels.

Arrow

- Above is a picture of Oliver's new costume, as he will now be calling himself the Green Arrow, which funnily is also the title for the fourth season opening episode.
- Diggle will also be getting a costume this season.
- Former Desperate Housewives actor Neal McDonough has been cast in the role of Damien Darhk. However, the Batman villain Anarchy will also be a threat to the gang this year as well.
- The show will also be adding the character of Mr Terrific, who in the show's version will be gay and a friend of Felicity's.
- New interactions will be key this season, especially between Malcolm, Felicity, Laurel and Thea.

The Flash

- Biggest news revealed was that Masters Of Sex actor Teddy Sears will be playing Jay Garrick in the new season while Shantel VanSanten will play Patty Spivot, a love interest for Barry.
- Wally West will also be popping up at some point while fans can expect to see Grodd back and a Captain Cold/Golden Glider episode early in the season.
- Season 2 will open up months after the first season finale with Iris being a help to Team Flash.
- Barry will regret not saving his mother and Henry will eventually get out of prison.
- Cisco will be dealing with some new abilities and the villain for Season 2 will be Zoom.

Meanwhile the CW also released a trailer for the upcoming Vixen series, which will premiere on CWSeed from August 25th. Although confirmed months ago, we will be seeing both Oliver and Barry in the animated series too. The show looks like a good addition to this particular universe and hopefully, it'll pave the way for a live action version of Vixen to appear in the other shows at some point.

Legends Of Tomorrow

- There's a lot of emphasis from Caity Lotz on her character, White Canary being dangerous and unafraid to die since being revived from the dead.
- The greatest thing about the show will be it's ability for time travel. That will be a big factor in the show.
- Hawkgirl's lover, Hawkman will appear in the series. Ciara Renee is also excited to explore the reincarnation aspects of her character.
- The inspiration for the gang is both The Magnificent Seven and Ocean's Eleven.
- Professor Stein will apparently have the arrogance to think he can mediate a dysfunctional family, according to Victor Garber.

Supergirl

- Peter Facinelli has joined the series as Maxwell Lord.
- The producers want to do both Supergirl and her famous cousin's mythology justice.
- Expect several strong female characters in this show.
- Melissa Benoist on her costume: "It’s impossible not to feel empowered & brave when I’m wearing it.”
- Executive Producer Ali Adler on Kara: "You'll see her first as female and you'll remember her as powerful. She's a badass."

Saturday, July 11, 2015

To kick off things, the BBC have rather nicely given us a new image from Sherlock's upcoming Christmas special.

While it's not an actual image from the episode itself, it's still a nice reminder of course that the special is set during Victorian times and pretty much in it's own little bubble as well. In some ways, that's a little frustrating as it's likely they won't resolve the cliffhanger we were left with in His Last Vow but on the other hand, the clip they released from the special did poke a lot of fun though ("I'm your landlady, not a plot device"), so that works for me.

Meanwhile while Benedict Cumberbatch couldn't attend the panel himself for Comic-Con (neither did Martin Freeman), he did however take part along with Mark Gatiss in Andrew Scott's amusing video where the three of them explained their absences. As for the panel itself, it was attended by Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue and Rupert Graves and here are some tidbits we did learn ....

- A crossover with Doctor Who could be a possibility. Moffat didn't seem against the idea this time.
- Sue Vertue said they were trying to get Sherlock to air in the US closer/same day as the UK.
- Hint was made at the third Holmes brother.
- Irene won at the end of A Scandal In Belgravia apparently. Moffat doesn't know if the character will be seen again.
- Series 4 hasn't been written yet but Moffat and company do know where they will be going with it. Expect to be "sucker punched into emotional devastation".
- The sexism of the era will be central to the Christmas special. Somehow factors Molly in a way.
- A clue for the Christmas special is also "ghosts".
- The Christmas special will also be shown in selected cinemas worldwide.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Kicking off the early days of Comic-Con 2015, the cast and crew of Doctor Who arrived in style to give us the lowdown for the upcoming series.

Hosted by Chris Hardwick, the hour panel comprised of showrunner/executive producer Steven Moffat as well as stars themselves Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and Michelle Gomez - the latter two making their debut at the event. While there was a lot of crypticness in relation to upcoming plot points from the new series (amidst the banter and cosplays), a trailer was then released and here are some of the highlights ....

Not only are the Daleks back then (en masse, even with a 60s model) but going from the various shots in the trailer, it looks like both Karn and Skaro are also making their returns. It's likely for the opening story, The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar. While also not officially confirmed, those Davros as a child rumours are also looking likely to be true, given that Peter Capaldi has revealed that the Doctor will help a war victim with disastrous results.

Keeping with the opening story, we had various shots of the Master/Missy in the trailer and between Michelle Gomez, Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat, there's been a lot of interesting points made on the dynamic that Missy will have with the Doctor this series. She'll definitely be her evil self and no doubt has some kind of a role in the Dalek stuff this series but it also seems we're going to learn more about the Doctor/Master friendship as well.

In terms of other confirmations, it looks like Toby Whithouse's story will feature an underwater city/terrifying ghosts, there's a moment where the Doctor dons some shades and a guitar, some hugging with him and Clara, an alien with two faces as well as some child snatching Zygons. Surprisingly enough, we didn't actually get any clips of Osgood in the trailer though Steven Moffat has confirmed that there will be a 'tough love' element to her returning two parter.

What took you so long, old man? - And then there's Maisie Williams character from the connected episodes, The Girl Who Died/The Woman Who Lived. While the former episode has been confirmed as a Viking on a spaceship story, the latter one has Williams in highway gear, confronting the Doctor - whom she seems to have a history with. Moffat gave us no clues as to who her character will be but the robotic monsters will be named The Mire though.

As trailers go, it's definitely one of the best the show has done and has set up the tone for Series 9 pretty well.

About Me

My name is Shawn Lunn and when I don't blog regularly on TV, I write a serious amount of reviews for a variety of different TV programmes as well as comics, books and DVDs pertaining to them (which can be found on my TV Tome and Shawnlunn2002 TVHITS Yahoo Group, also linked here) as well as on this blog. I'm a huge fan of all innovative and smart television.